Portable bin carrier assembly

Claim 1

A portable carrier-bin assembly comprising: a. an upright bin having an opening at its upper end for charging of material and a lowermost discharge opening in its bottom surface, said bin having projecting lifting members on opposite sides of the uppermost portiOn thereof and having support legs attached thereto, said legs being adapted for adjustment in length so as to permit support of said bin at different selected elevations; b. a U-shaped carrier frame having a closed front end and sides and an open rear end, said U-shaped carrier frame being sized to permit enclosure of at least a lower portion of said bin in upright, leg supported position when the open end of said carrier is backed up to said bin in upright position; c. wheels attached to said carrier frame for moving said carrier frame from one location to another; d. lifting arms pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the closed end of said frame and extending toward the rear of the frame to an intermediate location along its length, said lifting arms being provided near their upper ends on their upfacing sides with open notches formed to receive said lifting members, the open notches of said lifting arms being adapted to engage said projecting lifting members on opposite sides of the bin upon being raised from below said legs and to disengage said projecting lifting members upon being lowered while said bin is independently supported at an elevated position above the ground, said lifting arms being adapted for movement between a lower, an intermediate, and upper positions, said lower position being such that upon being raised from below, the open notches of the arms will engage the projecting lifting members on the bin when the bin is independently supported at a first low elevation by its legs when adjusted for short length, said intermediate position being sufficient to support said bin with adequate ground clearance being provided for said support legs for movement from said first location to a second location, said upper positions being above said intermediate position and at least some of them being above the elevation of pivotal connection of said lifting arms to said carrier frame and such that said bin may be raised to an elevation above that of said intermediate position where it may be independently supported at a relatively high elevation at said second location by said adjustable legs when adjusted for long length, and said legs of the bin in at least one retracted position extending below the bottom of the bin whereby the bin may be lifted from ground contact with its legs retracted by moving the lifting arms up to the intermediate position during the movement of the assembly from one location to another and whereby the lifting arms may be moved from the intermediate position to the upper position so that the bin legs may be extended to ground contact to provide clearance under the bin for equipment to receive material discharged from the bin; e. means mounted on said carrier frame for raising and lowering said pivotally mounted lifting arms between said lower, intermediate and upper positions; f. arm support members secured to the opposite sides of said carrier frame adapted to support said lifting arms approximately in said intermediate position during movement of said assembly from one location to another, said arm support members being arranged to permit folding aside when not employed for supporting said lifting arms, whereby said arm support members do not interfere with the lowering of said lifting arms to said lower position; g. mechanical means at the closed end of said U-shaped frame for coupling said assembly to a source of locomotion for transporting said assembly from one location to another, whereby with said lifting arms in a position below the level of the projecting lifting members on said independently supported bin, said carrier may be backed up to the bin to be moved, the lifting arms may be raised to engage the projecting lifting members on said bin, the legs on said bin may be adjusted to the extent necessary to a length suitable for transportation and said lifting arms may be adjusted to said intermediate position for transportation of said bin enclosed within said Ushaped frame, and thereafter at a new Location the lifting arms may be adjusted to position the bin at its desired new support level and the legs of said bin may be adjusted for independent support of the bin at the desired support level, and the lifting arms may then be lowered, thereby disengaging from the projecting lifting members on said bin so that the carrier may then be moved away from the relocated bin.